Ceramic Coat Price - Please share thoughts

My 4R should be in by the end of the month or early April. I received the following quote:

Paint Correction - Minimal because it is new
GlassParency Treatment
Ceramic Coating
Wheel Coating
All Exterior Plastic Coating

Quote: $1400-$1600 (6-8 year)
Quote: $1000-$1200 (2-3 year)

I did my research and this particular shop is highly rated, talked to the owner and he seemed very knowledgeable about every question I asked.

Thought on the quote and/or thoughts on 2-3 year or 6-8 year Coating.

Thank you

 

Being a new owner of a 2024 T4R ORP in Underground here’s what I did. Keep in mind the Underground color, or any dark color for that matter, shows scratches and scratches easily. I took my truck to the highest rated company in San Diego; known as One of One. When I pulled in I parked next to a Lamborghini. The parking lot was full of Ferrari, Maserati, Mercedes, Porsche and several Teslas. Had them do Xpel Plus paint protection film on the front clip; hood, bumper, fenders, headlights, mirrors, door cups and entire roof, for surfboards, snowboards, etc. Then tint every window on the truck, including the wind shield and sunroof, not limo but next one up. Lastly, a high end ceramic coating over the entire truck, including wheels and over the paint protection film, 10 year warranty. I wanted to do the Xpel Paint Protection Film over the entire truck, but the Admiral said no, too much money, shit. The entire cost was $5,000.00. Just the ceramic coating was $1,100.00. The 4Runner had 35 miles on it the day I dropped it off. These trucks cost upwards of $50,000.00. Figured I’d protect my investment.

 

The ceramic coating lasts about a year in ideal conditions. Not sure if the other items can meet the advertised life.

 

The pricing seems in line with the well known places around me. I plan on applying Gyeon Evo (Mohs or Pure, haven't decided yet) to my 24 Underground ORP. I drove a 17 GTI for almost 7 years to 166k miles and never had a ceramic coat or PPF. Needless to say, the rock chips after 166k on the front end were numerous. My mindset is that if I can live with that, I can live with whatever happens to my 4R I plan on owning much longer..but I will ceramic coat it, but no way I'm paying that kind of money regardless of quality difference.

 

If you think you can do it yourself you could save 95% of that money, it's not that hard just pay attention and don't get ahead of yourself. Lots of good videos out there. Just clay bar it good.

 

Ceramic coating isn’t worth it, most coatings break down around the 6 month mark.

Waxing the car regularly will have the same effect. It’ll create a thin protective layer to protect the paint from the elements and uv rays. Clay it well and use some bead maker in between washes.

 

Welcome.

Buy all of the materials required and learn to do the paint correction and ceramic coating yourself. Just keep in mind that it will take upwards of 18+ hours to do all of it. If you have the time, it’s rewarding.

After the paint correction, I would invest in PPF on the high impact areas vs ceramic coating.

 

Wow, that's expensive for a short lived product. Just wax it 2x a year with a high quality wax.

 

That could buy you
A bumper
Suspension
Ceramic tint
Roof rack
Upgraded lights

etc etc

ceramic is an overpriced waste.

 

Preach it

 

I plan do ceramic coat myself when the weather gets better. No way would I pay that kind of money to have some one else do it. I've been getting the needed supplies together, DA variable polisher, pads, polishing compounds, clay bars, etc. $300-$350 total. I figured if I can bring this back to life, doing a paint correction and ceramic coat should be a cake walk now that I have some experience.

EDIT: I had never polished a car before. This was my 1st one. I took the advice from the body shop supply store, watched a few U-Tubes and went for it. It really is not difficult. But it is time consuming and tedious. This took 20 hrs. for both sides. Yeah, the driver side was just as bad.

 

I had professionally applied ceramic coat on a classic car and a daily driver. On a garage queen it lasts forever, reinforces clear coat and is superb product. On a daily driver that sees winter, it only lasted 2 years. In my case, 10 year warranty was not honored, as they kept claiming it was still there, just needed "rejuvenation".

I still get it applied on my new 4Runner, as I can afford it and it makes cleaning the car much easier.

 

Honestly I wouldn't bother. Paint correction is fairly easy to do once you dedicate some time to learn about it.
Once the paint is corrected a simple ceramic coating can be applied at home.

I just use Turtle Wax's hybrid solutions ceramic spray wax. I'm sure there are better products out there but for the price it works very well; much better than a typical spray wax.

 

Oh, I forgot to mention, the owner of the business gave me a bottle of this stuff. He said after 4-5 car washes spray a couple pumps onto a soft applicator, then choose a panel like a door or half the hood and like mowing the lawn, pull it in a straight line the length of the panel, overlapping slightly with each pass. After finishing the panel, let the product flash for 30 to 60 seconds, then use a soft micro fiber towel to buff off. This stuff comes off very easily and gives the paint that “wet” look. The ingredients include ceramic and silica, which has extreme hydrophobic properties that sheet water off the paint and makes cleaning off sap, bird poop, mud, tar, road film or anything very easy. I can do the entire 4Runner in under an hour. I do the plastic, glass and wheels as well. The tires I use 303. Last time I crawled under it and did the track bar, shocks, skid plates, parts of the frame and most anything I could get to. After off-roading, it makes cleaning the under carriage a snap because nothing sticks to it. Remember, a little goes a long way, I can do the entire truck 4 times before reordering more from Amazon. Best way to put it, this shit is “DaBomb”.

 

You’re correct, having the right tools make it easier. OP check out the Rupes line up.

polish, pads and buffer - only brand I’d recommend. Ready to roll out of the box.

Make sure to tape off any plastic so you don’t get polish on it. It’s a pain to remove the polish.

Also, check out the bead maker protectant spray. Very forgiving if applied unevenly unlike ceramic.

 

We have an amazing shop here in town, and my 4R is actually going there this morning for a bunch of stuff.
On my Raptor I did Xpel front end, mirrors, and fender flares + Feynlab 3yr ceramic (and the correction etc. to prep for that) - OTD $1,4xx.00 (cash price)
The Xpel was $800 and the ceramic and stuff was $6xx.